


Baby, It's Cold Outside...And Inside

by TaleasOldasTimeandSpace



Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cuddling, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Indirect flirting, Strange Magic Secret Santa, awkward dorks, butterfly bog, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9023917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaleasOldasTimeandSpace/pseuds/TaleasOldasTimeandSpace
Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledge that, when trapped in a frozen wasteland, the best way to stave off hypothermia is to cuddle.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Strange Magic Secret Santa fic for [indigocatastrophe](http://indigocatastrophe.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.
> 
> Merry Christmas! *Dawn eyes intensify* I hope you like it!

‘If we die, it’s your fault.’

Bog paused in blowing on his hands to squint at Marianne.  ‘How d’you figure that?  This was _yer_ brilliant idea.’

She huffed and continued rubbing her arms.  ‘Yeah, but if you hadn’t been reminiscing about the ice forts you built as a kid, I never would have had the idea in the first place.  Therefore, it’s your fault.’

‘ _Ah_ was perfectly happy inside, where it’s _warm,_ drinkin’ hot chocolate an’ watchin’ every version of A Christmas Carol known t’man.  Y’know, what any _sane_ person does at this time o’ year.  But noooo.  _You_ had t’go all Elsa on me an’ insist on buildin’ yer ice palace.’

‘How was I supposed to know there’d be a cave-in?  You’re the architect, not me!’

Bog sniffed and stuffed his hands into his armpits.  ‘Snow is not generally recognized as a buildin’ material.  Unless it’s an igloo.  Or one o’ those ice hotels.  In which case there would still be hot chocolate.  _An’_ we’d pay a ridiculous amount o’ money t’freeze t’death, instead o’ this weird murder/suicide thing you’ve got goin’ on.’

Marianne snickered.  ‘Oh, Boggy—’

‘Bog.  Only yer sister calls me Boggy.’

‘That’s ’cause you’re scare of her.’

‘Yes.  Yes, Ah am.’  He felt no shame in admitting it.  For someone who was essentially sunshine personified, Dawn could be terrifying.

Marianne smiled angelically.  ‘Anyway, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t use an ice fort to do it.’

‘An’ now you scare me, too.’

‘Aw, you say the sweetest things.’  She patted his cheek with one chilly hand.

He caught it before she could pull away and frowned, chafing her hand between his own.  ‘Yer colder than Ah am.’

‘Not sure how that’s possible—you’re so skinny.  Do trees even have any kind of temperature?  Unless they’re used for firewood, of course.  But I don’t think you’d make an effective bonfire.’

‘Stop insultin’ me an’ c’mere,’ he growled, pulling her into his arms.

‘Whoa, what are you doing?’ she demanded.  ‘Help!  Somebody!  I’m being attacked by Old Man Willow!’

‘Quit yer squawking.  Ah’m just tryin’ t’share body heat, in th’time-honoured tradition.’  He tucked her comfortably under his chin and wrapped his arms around her.

‘Whose tradition?’ she asked his chest.

‘Y’know.  Every movie an’ TV show ever where people are trapped in a frozen wasteland an’ have t’huddle t’gether fer warmth.’

She twisted around so she could see his face.  ‘You _do_ realize the scenario you described is basically just an excuse to have your OTP cuddle, right?’  She waggled her eyebrows.

Bog could _feel_ his face turn red.  Forget sharing body heat, he could melt his way out of their icy tomb with the warmth of his cheeks alone.

He cleared his throat.  ‘Well, if you’d rather freeze t’death on yer own…’  He started to disentangle himself from Marianne, but she burrowed against him.

‘Hey!  I didn’t say that.  I was just making an observation.’  She wrapped her own arms around him.  ‘You were right, by the way.  You are warmer than me.  How is that even possible?  Have you been getting into the Ent draught again, Treebeard?’

He rolled his eyes, which she couldn’t appreciate since she was once again snuggled under his chin.  ‘Yeah, yeah.  Laugh it up, hobbit.  Yer just jealous because yer pocket-sized.’

She gasped in outrage and thumped his back, which was all she could reach in her current position.  ‘I’ll have you know that I’m a perfectly average height.  You think everyone’s tiny because you’re so freakishly tall.’

Now it was his turn to gasp dramatically.  ‘How can you say that t’me?  Ah thought we were friends.’  He put a hand to his brow.

‘Huh.  I thought we were more along the lines of partners in crime.’

‘That too.  But seriously—Ah wouldn’t risk hypothermia fer just anyone.’

‘Why, Bog King, I do declare!’  Her mock Southern accent was muffled by his coat.  ‘You’ll make me blush!  Now put your hand back, if you please,’ she added imperiously.  ‘You’re letting all the cold air in.’

‘Tch.  Bossy.’  But he obediently wrapped his arm around her again.

It was almost pleasant, sitting bundled against each other like that.  Bog rested his cheek comfortably on top of Marianne’s head.  ‘You’re surprisingly comfy,’ she said.  ‘For a tree.’

He sighed, making her bob against his chest.  ‘Sweet silence.  Ah knew it was too good t’last.’

‘Speaking of, how long do you think it’ll be until they send a search party for us?’ she asked, her breath tickling his neck.

He shrugged, studying the ceiling of their cave.  ‘Dunno.  If we’re talkin’ about yer sister an’ her boyfriend, they’re probably too busy flirtin’ t’notice we’re gone.’

‘You have a point.  We’ll be lucky if they dig our frozen corpses out before the spring thaw.’

‘Yer just a bundle o’ sunshine, aren’t you?’

‘No.  No, I am not.  That would be my sister.  You think my parents just _happened_ to name her Dawn?’  She snickered.  ‘It figures that she would start dating a guy named Sunny.  They’re so adorable it makes my teeth hurt.’

‘Yer not like that, thank goodness.’

‘No way, Treebeard!  I am darkness.  I am the night!’

He stroked her hair calmingly.  ‘Easy there, Batman.  Deep breaths.’

‘Justice cannot be soothed,’ she growled.

‘…What does that even mean?’

‘Honestly, I have no idea.  I just thought it sounded cool.  I think maybe the cold is making me loopy.’

‘What’s yer excuse the rest o’ the time, then?’

‘I walked into that, didn’t I?’

‘You did, rather.  Yes.’

She freed an arm to pat his cheek.  ‘Well played, Mr. King.’

He grinned down at her.  ‘Y’know, Ah’d never admit it outside of this fort, an’ if you breathe a word o’ it t’anyone Ah’ll categorically deny it an’ start rumors that call in t’question yer mental health, but…  Building—an’ possibly freezing t’death inside—this fort wi’ you has been more fun than watching A Christmas Carol by mahself.’

She blinked at him, processing his words.  Then her cheeks, already pink with cold, flushed as a slow smile spread across her face.  ‘Well since you bring it up, there isn’t anyone I’d rather risk frostbite with than you.’

They were too busy staring dopily at each other to notice the noises outside the fort until the roof suddenly caved in.  The burst of sunlight made them both wince.  Dawn poked her head into the hole.  ‘You realize that we can hear you, right?  I mean, for crying out loud, you’re in our front yard, not Antarctica!  Saps.’  She disappeared, but they could still hear her through their new skylight.  ‘Sunny!  Let’s go ice skating.  If I have to listen to one more minute of them indirectly flirting with each other, I’m going turn into Marianne and hurt someone.’

Marianne had scrambled off of Bog as soon as Dawn appeared, throwing herself to the opposite side of their ice cave.  She looked at him sheepishly, mildly gratified to see he looked as flustered as she felt.  ‘Um.  We’re free now,’ she observed.

He nodded.  ‘Ah can see that.’

She tugged on her hair.  ‘You wanna go inside and get some hot chocolate?’

He smiled shyly.  ‘We could watch Scrooge while we drink it an’ wait fer the feelin’ t’return t’our toes.’

‘That sounds perfect.’  She pushed herself to her feet then paused, watching as Bog stood up.  ‘You just want to watch that because you know all the words to I Hate People, don’t you?’

‘You’ll just have t’wait an’ see, won’t you?’ he asked blandly, and boosted her out of the fort.

‘I look forward to it.’  She eyed him contemplatively for a moment, then leaned down to press a quick kiss on his mouth before she slid down the outside of the fort, running almost before she hit the ground.  ‘Last one in is Jacob Marley!’

It took him a minute to snap out of his stupor.  ‘Hey!  Get back here, you wee cheatin’ fairy!’

Her cackles echoed behind her as she dove into the house.


End file.
